Ramblings, ideas and memoirs of a joyous adventurer. Absinthe aficionado. Empathetic thinker-feeler. Verbose writer. Avidly authentic. Hydrangea fanatic. Snow leopard lover. Joy huntress. Promising my devotees a honest glimpse into my life as I live with freedom, power and full self-expression in an unfiltered and sometimes distilled way. CHEERS!
“A confused mind cannot direct deft hands and what is more confusing than a cluttered, disorderly place to work? What is more uninviting, too? The grateful appearance of order—this is the one important way women judge each other’s housekeeping. And every efficient housekeeper knows that in no room does it count for more than in the the kitchen.”
Woman’s Home Companion, August 1924
“I love tidying the kitchen as my husband’s self-expression is cooking and to have clean and orderly canvas for him to create within is my way of being his muse to his artistic expression.”
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 201 to 203 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
“Almost always it is year by year the complexities of this spinning world grow bewildering and so each year we need all the more to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities.”
Woman’s Home Companion (December 1935)
“As we become curators of our own contentment on the Simple Abundance path, one of the great payoffs is that we start to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities. Little things begin to mean a lot to us. Joyful simplicities nourish body and soul by engaging our senses. They teach us how to live in the present moment. Life comes together when we seek out the sublime in the ordinary.”
“To keep our daily round from being all drudgery, we’ve got to savor the art of the small: discovering diminutive delights that bring us peace and pleasure.”
“Don’t you see how we have to seize the essence of life? We have to embrace every moment.”
“People need joy quite as much as clothing. Some of them need it far more.”
Margaret Collier Graham (California short story writer; September 29th, 1850 ~ January 17th, 1910)
“Today, make discovering those joyful simplicities that bring you personal comfort and a sense of well-being one of your highest priorities.”
“I am procrastinating lately. My soul is screaming for me to nourish it with my creative expression in my blog, while my revamp of my resume sits in waiting. UGH! I am caught up on my blog and feel complete. I choose now to focus on my resume to market myself for the positions I want to seek. It is funny, today I was chatting with my co-worker, Dave, and shared with him some insight on our current contract salary. Between the 3-year and 5-year contract, we only received a .5% raise. So, if we assume COLA is expected, by the end of the cumulative 8-years, we will be making 29.5% less than when we started 8-year prior. Really is upsetting. Enough procrastinating…onto the needed work on my resume. I am committed to creating abundance in my life.” (Heather Houston 1-31-26)
“In the present state of the US, it is imperative to stay employed if possible. These are very uncertain times. I have come to learn to not drudge my daily tasks. Instead, I look forward to them and checking them off my list feeling productive and complete. Most tasks are associated with keeping the household running and because I love my partner, completing tasks like these are a loving gesture to us both. Reframing how you look at things you get to do (Tasks), is a genuine pleasure of being alive. The alternative is not so pleasant. Stop waiting to live…LIVE NOW!” (Heather Houston 1-31-26)
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 32 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
My Distilled Life 